I am a musician

I’m no scientist

I’m no mathematician

I’m no historian

I’m no athlete

I’m no translator

Nor will I be any of those things

I am a musician

So I will be a musician.

Don’t waste my time with the Pythagorean Theorem

Or with ionic & covalent bonds

And don’t DARE tell me to take my headphones off

Because I don’t give a shit that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492

As opposed to you, these headphones are teaching me things I will actually use after high school.

After high school, I will be a musician

I won’t be at NASA

I won’t be a stock broker

I won’t be the guy who discovers ancient artifacts

I won’t be in the NFL

And I sure as hell won’t be speaking Latin

I will be performing for & inspiring generations of younger musicians

This will be MY contribution to society

So if I’m coming to school to “learn”,

Then the only paper I want to see on my desk is manuscript paper.

& if you can’t teach me what I need to learn,

Then let Coltrane & Sinatra do it

Because I am a musician

And it is folly to treat every student as if they were the same.

It’s folly to treat every student like they have the same brain

Because some students amount to nothing

Whereas others aspire for fame.

I am a musician

& I do things my own way.